Wayne Smethurst has told of his excitement as the Association of Bridging Professionals (AOBP) announced it has changed its name and become the Financial Intermediary & Broker Association (FIBA).
The change of name reflects the trade body’s stated aim to become the natural home for all advisers and lenders, regardless of their particular lending sector of interest, whilst maintaining the Association’s current emphasis on specialist property finance.
TFC Homeloans director and FIBA executive committee member Mr Smethurst said: “This is an exciting day for us, after all the hard work that has gone into bringing the new association into being.
"We are looking forward to taking our message to intermediaries and lenders across the finance sector and particularly to those who have not felt that there is an organisation that speaks to them or for them. At the same time, we intend to complement existing arrangements that some of our members may already have in place.
"We are planning to be not only a dynamic organisation for members by providing access to exclusive lender and provider product and service initiatives, but also a campaigning voice which will look to represent the interests of all our members by engaging proactively with government, regulators and industry.”
The existing AOBP membership of IFAs, residential mortgage and commercial finance brokers and a wide range of lenders forms a strong base of support and the intention is to reach out and attract brokers, lenders and tertiary service providers involved in the specialist lending sector, who have seen the benefits of this Association in the past but now want more support.
As the primary supporter of the new association, David Golder of SimplyBiz, said:
“The AOBP has a long history of supporting brokers, lenders and advisers and we are delighted to be involved as an investor in ensuring this goes from strength to strength. This is not our first investment in a not-for-profit business and we take seriously our collective responsibility to support best practice in the sector.”
In summary, FIBA says its principle aim is to be a "broad church" encompassing the whole of the market and therefore looks forward to constructive dialogue with all stakeholders associated with the lending sector.